This document provides a high level overview of the Google Analytics
Metadata API. For a detailed reference of the API, read the
API
Reference
.
Introduction
The Metadata API returns the list and attributes of columns (i.e. dimensions
and metrics) exposed in the Google Analytics reporting APIs. Attributes
returned include UI name, description, segments support, and more.
You can use the Metadata API to:
- Automatically discover new columns
- Access all dimensions and metrics attributes for Google Analytics
reporting APIs
Check out a
live Metadata API response
and learn how you can use this by reading the
Dev Guide
.
Conceptual Overview
The fundamental concepts underlying the Metadata API are:
Columns
A Column resource in the Metadata API represents a single dimension or
metric and contains information such as the
Id
and other
attributes for that column. A collection of
Column
resources
represents all of the dimensions and metrics for a reporting API.
Working with the API
When querying the API you specify the report type for which you're
interested in retrieving metadata. The response from the API will include
a collection of all the columns (i.e. dimensions and metrics) available for
that report type. Read the
Metadata API Reference Guide
for more information about the API response
and
code examples
, and the
Metadata API Dev Guide
for details on working with the API.
API Access
The Metadata API doesn't require authentication and authorization. Instead,
the only requirement is that your application identify itself every time it
sends a request to the Analytics API. For details on how to do this see the
API
Access
section of the
Dev Guide
.
Quota and Deprecation Policies
The Metadata API handles millions of operations. To
protect the system from receiving more operations than it can handle, and to
ensure an equitable distribution of system resources, it is necessary to
employ a quota system. Read the
Limits and Quota
guide for more details.
For details on how changes to reporting API columns (i.e. dimensions
and metrics) are handled, read the
Data Deprecation Policy
. To learn how the
Metadata API
can be used to check for deprecated columns, see the
Metadata API Dev Guide
.